Artists have long equated beauty with truth, but the truth is that beauty only exists in relation to something less beautiful. Beauty shines in the juxtaposition. For every Bulgari there is something truly Vulgari

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

Open lists a few parliamentarians who could take a tip or two from Nehru to revive Indian Parliament as an effective instrument of democracy—and to save the country from the brink of economic and political disaster

Once a Double Niner, always a Double Niner. So say soldiers of the 99th Field Regiment of the Indian Army, which was awarded the title ‘Sylhet’ for its gallantry in the 1971 War for the liberation of Bangladesh. First raised in Aurangabad as the 99th Mountain Composite Regiment (Towed) on 15 April 1964, it is remembered for its role in obtaining the surrender of Pakistani forces after a 25-day gun battle during the war. As this 20-minute documentary shows, the Double Niners were masters of tactical manoeuvres, a tradition they still try their utmost to uphold.

Alam is the co-founder of the Muslim League, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. Beyond the politics, and the facts of his arrest and his life, and his own agenda, there are stories of ordinary people

Aatma is soul cinema. A mere ghost movie is passe and so the fine actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Abhay, deceased. Bipasha Basu plays Maya, animate—and divorced from him. Before his sudden demise, Abhay had expressed unhappiness with the divorce proceedings, particularly the granting of custody of his daughter Niya to Maya.

To correct this perceived unfairness, Abhay’s aatma turns up to take possession of little Niya. Needless to say, this is in complete violation of court orders. The judge had granted him visiting rights to his daughter for only an hour every weekend, and here he is, almost every day, at all odd hours, talking to Niya (Doyel Dhawan), spoiling her silly and telling her what a bad mummy she has.

Presumably, the internal logic of director Supam Verma’s narrative is to show how the divorce of parents tears kids apart, and how sometimes one or both parents use their children in devious ways to settle scores. This could have been an interesting theme, if developed reasonably.

But the film doesn’t just stop at the aatma moving furniture around and communicating with Niya on video and telephone. There is a long queue of ‘enemies’ waiting to be bumped off, including a classmate who teases Niya, a strict teacher, a child counsellor, and so on. It has to be said, however, with some trepidation, that when the aatma finally does away with his former mother-in-law (Shernaz Patel), there is an unhealthy glee with which the deed is done. No doubt there is a message here for us all.

Eventually, the evil aatma ends up caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. In order to gain eternal custody of his daughter, he will have to devise a way to bring her to the after-life. But by this time the film is spinning out of orbit and has lost all bearing of sense. A movie that starts off with a few genuine moments of fright ends up as a laughably bad ghost story.

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

Sitaram Yechury incurs the displeasure of party leaders who want action, not talk, as the new chief goes ahead with plans to hold a plenum in November, just months ahead of crucial polls in Kerala where it is battling against heavy odds to wrest power from the Congress and in West Bengal where it is struggling to retain its second position

Open lists a few parliamentarians who could take a tip or two from Nehru to revive Indian Parliament as an effective instrument of democracy—and to save the country from the brink of economic and political disaster